What Does This Robotic Photo Studio Mean For the Future of Fashion Photography?

Design company StyleShoots is releasing a robotic photo studio, created specifically with the fashion industry in mind.

The studio, StyleShoots Live, works by merging standard photography with AI technology. Models simply enter the booth, and with a couple controls via iPad, professional grade stills (or video) are taken. It’s a quick, easy and totally unique concept.

The booth is equipped with a Canon 1DX Mk II camera with a 24-105 mm STM lens. It is propped on a 3-axis gimbal with motor. The studio is able to sense where the models are by way of a 3D depth sensing camera. The operating system is run by the company’s image and video processing software alongside a Mac Pro.

Lighting is created by six high-CRI LED striplights and skylight panels. Next to the striplights is a reversible reflector to bounce light within the space, alongside a backdrop that supports seamless paper of your choice.

The Style Engine software is capable of reading where the model is physically, the height of the model, and fine tuning parameters. This leaves only the brightness control to the user. Everything else (including exposure settings) is taken care of by the machine.

The booth is equipped with a Canon 1DX Mk II camera with a 24-105 mm STM lens. It is propped on a 3-axis gimbal with motor. The studio is able to sense where the models are by way of a 3D depth sensing camera. The operating system is run by the company’s image and video processing software alongside a Mac Pro.

Lighting is generated using six high-CRI LED striplights and skylight panels. Next to the striplights is a reversible reflector to bounce light within the space, alongside a backdrop that supports seamless paper of your choice.

The Style Engine software is capable of reading where the model is physically, the height of the model, and fine tuning parameters. This leaves only the brightness control to the user. Everything else (including exposure settings) is taken care of by the machine.

And yet, this isn’t the first time AI technology has threatened the jobs of human beings. On one side it’s argued that technology such as this will lower costs and increase efficiency for the consumer; on the other, people are concerned that AI technology will leave them jobless, especially when it comes to blue collar labor.

When asked if StyleShoots could potentially hurt and disrupt the photography industry, head of product and marketing Anders Jorgensen said: “To run a fashion shoot, you need a creative eye to compose the shot, pose the model and style the clothes. A robot can’t do that yet. So no, we’re not replacing a photographer as much as we’re fully giving those with that creative eye the ability to execute on their vision with speed and ease.”

StyleShoots Live Studio is priced around $80,000 with leasing plans available as well.

lol – This means nothing for the future of fashion photography because it isn’t fashion photography.

They say they aren’t replacing photographers, someone still has to run it, so what is the point in having it? It needs a dedicated space, but any company with half a brain could set up pretty much the same thing in the same amount of space and leave it permanently set up so there is no “technical hassle” as the stupid video calls it, and save themselves $70K in the process. Infact, even less since the sort of company that would buy this would already have most of the equipment necessary. They would also have the “automation” because they’ve been doing it for the last decade and on top of that, the lighting is completely limited and looks terrible, you are stuck with the one look for at least the ROI of the setup, the space is cramped and limited.

What company is going to drop this sort of unnecessary money on this claptrap contraption?